Phoenix Fridays: Romain Grosjean on ‘the king’ of F1

With seven Formula One World Championship titles, Michael Schumacher needs no introduction and is a living and breathing legend in motor racing’s hall of fame. 

From his debut in 1991 to his retirement in 2012, the German racer’s record was more than impressive, and alongside his 91 Grand Prix wins, he ascended the podium on 155 occasions. 

While 2012 marked Schumacher’s final season in F1, it was Step One Motorsports ambassador Romain Grosjean’s first, and the Frenchman went head-to-head with The Red Baron. 

When asking Romain where Schumacher ranks in F1 legend, his answer was direct and without thought. For Romain, Michael was the king. 

“If I look back, I’ve raced against Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, and Michael Schumacher,” he explains, recounting a list that holds a combined 20 World Championships. 

“It’s pretty cool and I never thought that when I was watching Formula One as a kid that I would ever race against Michael Schumacher. He was the king. 

“He scored pole position at Monaco in 2012 – one of the most difficult Grands Prix of the year. He was more than 40 years old, and he was up there. You could tell that he was giving it his all. 

“That silver car with that red helmet, he was someone who you would inspire yourself from, but although I was very lucky to race against him, it’s the Ferrari years. 

“That red car, the red helmet, and the screaming V10 and V8 engines. That’s what I remember about Michael Schumacher’s career. That’s who Michael is to me.” 

IMOLA, ITALY – MAY 02: Michael Schumacher, Ferrari F399 during the San Marino GP at Imola on May 02, 1999 in Imola, Italy. (Photo by LAT Images)

Over a 10-year period, Schumacher and Ferrari formed one of the most potent and effective driver-team combinations in Formula One history, delivering an incredible 71 race wins. 

But in 1999, the world was put on hold when Schumacher was involved in a high-speed accident at the start of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. 

“It was incredible to see what Michael did at Ferrari. Him, Jean Todt and Ross Brawn – that was the magic team, but I remember being in front of my TV in 1999 for the British Grand Prix,” continues Romain. 

“The Ferrari wasn’t the best car that season, but it was good. The race start had happened and then at Stowe Corner, Michael just went straight. 

“He just went straight into the wall and hit the tire barrier very heavily. Straight away you realised that it was something serious and that the accident was pretty big. 

“He broke his legs and he had to miss six races in a year when he probably could have been World Champion. 

“But he came back late in the season and got pole position by more than one second in his first race back. I guess he was really looking forward to going back to racing, knowing Michael, and how much he actually pushed to always be at the top. 

“He was supporting Eddie Irvine to win the championship for Ferrari when he came back, so Michael didn’t win the races, but you can tell that he was hungry for speed.” 

This uncompromising determination and hunger to be the best continued when Schumacher decided to return to Formula One with Mercedes for the 2010 season, and fundamentally, was an underlining trait in his character. 

“When he made his comeback in Formula One in 2010, I was in Mugello in 2009, developing the new Formula 3 car, and Michael was there driving a GP2 car,” recounts Romain. 

“He was doing laps and laps and laps just to make sure that he was up to speed to come back to Formula One. 

“When you’re a seven-time World Champion and you come back to F1, you should think that you’re going to be alright. No, that wasn’t Michael. Michael was there, in a GP2, doing laps and laps just to make sure that he was at the highest level when he came back. 

“When you’re a seven-time World Champion and you come back to F1, you should think that you’re going to be alright. No, that wasn’t Michael. Michael was there, in a GP2, doing laps and laps just to make sure that he was at the highest level when he came back.” 

“I never got the chance to train with Michael, but I’ve heard that first thing in the morning he would run up the mountains, come back, go to the gym and then in the afternoon, do more. 

“He was always at his best, at his prime, he never accepted not being there. I’m quite similar in that aspect in that you don’t want to get to a race track and go anywhere knowing that you could have won if I had done something differently. 

“That ‘if’ doesn’t exist and I think in Michael Schumacher’s life, from what I could see from the outside from racing him, there was no ‘if’. Everything had to be perfect. 

“If you look at the onboard, he was the guy who was always changing everything in the cockpit. He actually introduced a lot of new systems into Formula One because he wanted better. 

“He had all of those adjustments in the Ferrari and that was new. Nowadays, everyone uses it but back then, it all came from Michael.”